From: LeGrace Benson <legrace@twcny.rr.com>
>From LeGrace Benson on O'Reilly's piece on Habitation LeClerc:
The distressing story of the current conditions in this forest remnant does end with a note of hope. Brohman, who is trying to preserve this Haitian national treasure says, "The fact that it is still here contributes to its reputation as a sacred forest. For more than 200 years, governments have come and gone, but the trees have just kept growing."
There are some who believe in their bones that any forest is sacred. The posting evokes a recollection of the final paragraphs of Jacques Stephen Alexis's novel, Les arbres musiens. Shocking disasters have devasted land and people but the great, threatened trees begin to sing. "Toute la foret chante. Les arbres musiciens s'ecroulent de temps en temps mais la voix de la foret est toujours aussi puissant. La vie commence." Ainsi soit-t-il.